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Riverside Park Scissor Attack

It is a sad time when senseless acts of violence take place. When it is on our doorstep it makes us ask why such a things happen. In some cases there really are no answers, only lessons to be learnt. If we have learned anything from the scissor attack unleashed on those in Riverside Park it is that New York is definitely not running low on heroes.

Heroic Acts Amidst The Terror

Once again we are proud to write about the heroic acts of fellow New Yorkers. After a terrifying 9 minute scissor attack on Riverside Park visitors, fearless bystander Thomas Ciriacks, 49, put a stop to the bloodshed. By putting his own safety jeopardy he confronted and restrained homeless man Julius James Graham until police arrived.

It is thought that Graham lives in the Harlem homeless shelter and this not only was this rampage unprovoked but it was completely random. Just before 8am he had managed to stab and slash 5 people, including a two year old boy, in and around Riverside Park.

Ciriacks and former New York Ballet dancer James Fayette, who was with his 2 year old son, ran to the aid of a woman jogger who was stabbed in the neck. Fayette persuaded the attacker to move away from the woman while Ciriacks handed his dogs over to people standing near by. Thinking maybe it had been a prank at first Ciriacks soon realized that it was very real.

Graham and Fayette began to struggle as the father fearlessly shielded his toddler Luke as he sat in his stroller. Ciriacks managed to separate them and restrain Graham. Luke sustained a puncture wound on his forearm and his father was stabbed in the chest.

For nearly five minutes Ciriacks kept Graham subdued until the police arrived. The others who were attacked included and another female jogger who was stabbed back and a male pedestrian. We can only imagine that without the actions of Thomas Ciriacks this rampage could have resulted in even more injuries.

Although Thomas Ciriacks says that the only hero of the day was James Fayette for saving the woman and his son we think both men are worthy of hero status. We wish a very speedy recovery to everyone one that was hurt and hope that all your emotional and physical scars heal.